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“. . . God cares right down to the last detail.”
James 5:11, Message
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pregnancy advice
Give God the Details
By Brooke Keith
Contributing Writer
CBN.com – The subtle hints of auburn in your brunette curls,
The intricate designs of your fingertips,
The sun touched freckles that grace the bridge of your nose . . . Yes. When God created you, He cared about every little detail.
And when it comes to details there are a lot of them in your life right now. Many of them may be growing quite unpleasant. You may find yourself on a roller coaster ride of emotions. One minute you are crying at the Kotex commercial and the next you are blowing up over the trash that didn’t get taken out - and speaking of trash, just a whiff of it sends you running to the bathroom!
Besides the common ailments of pregnancy you also may have all those embarrassing or painful details that you suffer with in silence. Maybe the stress of an unexpected baby has put a strain on your marriage or maybe you have suffered a miscarriage in the past and are waiting to spread the good news . . . just in case.
While these details are hard to talk about and not so easy to share, you can be sure that God is a trustable friend. While you may censor some of the particulars of your pregnancy or even your life with your girlfriends, God is more than eager to hear about all the messy details . . . even the silly ones. And He never grows tired of hearing about your day, not even the seemingly unimportant details.
When He made you, after all, He didn’t overlook a single one. Why would He start now? He cared about every little molecule that went into your being and you can be sure that He’s not going to stop caring about them now.
If you are having trouble handling the details of pregnancy, there are few things that can help you keep your joy and make your nine months pass a lot smoother. Read on to find a few ways that you can make the details easier to bear . . .
Ask for Help
If you tend to have a super-woman mentality, pregnancy is a great time to lose that “trying to do it all” way of life. If you have other children, begin to think of ways they can help you out around the house. Little ones can do a lot more than you think. Let your five year old rinse the dishes after they’ve been washed. Put your hubby in charge of dinner on certain afternoons. When church friends offer to bring dinner, let them.
No matter how small the gesture, a little help goes a long way.
Follow Your Doctor’s Orders
If you’ve been put on bed rest, things can get pretty boring – pretty fast. Many women become depressed when they have been put on prolonged bed rest. A good way to avoid this is to find things that you can do from bed to keep your spirits up.
If you normally are very involved in ministry, you can still be active from where you are. Keep boxes of card making supplies by the bed along with your address book. Create encouraging cards for friends and family or encourage your community by mailing cards to the local nursing home or sick children. You can find forwarding addresses for mailing encouraging cards to sick children through a charity called Hugs and Hope.
Involve Your Spouse
One of the main reasons that men tend to fall to the wayside during pregnancy is because they feel like they’ve “done their part.” It’s not that they don’t want to be involved, but often times with all the attention on mom and baby they can actually start to feel like they aren’t a very big part of the process.
Involve your spouse more by sharing details of the pregnancy. If you are keeping a week to week watch on your baby’s development, share it with your spouse. If you are struggling with fear, share that too. Nothing bonds the two of you and makes things a two-person walk quite like open discussion and walking through your nine months together.
Get Support
If you are a single mother or just don’t feel that you have many friends to share with, a local church is a great place to build support. Not only will you begin to make friends, you also will find other means of support such as women’s groups, pastoral guidance, and even sweet elders who might be able to deliver dinner for you when the going gets tough. Many churches even offer childcare for single mothers, which could come in handy after your wee one makes his or her arrival.
Pray
When you take your cares to Jesus, burdens just get a whole lot lighter. He said, “Come to me all ye who are heavy laden and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). He didn’t say “those of you who are perfect” or “those of you who do all that I ask”. He said “all” of you.
When life get rough or complicated – or when you just need to chat, go sit at the feet of Jesus. There you’ll find peace that is found in no other and a friendship that is readily available whenever you call. The devil gets too much credit for being in the details . . . it is God who dwells in them. From life’s biggest problems to the simplest complaints, God cares about you and everything you go through.
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If you need someone to help you sort through the details, give our prayer counselors a call at (800) 759-0700. We would be honored to pray with you and your little one.
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